December 14, 2021
BY: MOHAMED SAHR
President Julius Maada Bio has delivered a statement at the 60TH Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government on Sunday 12th December 2021 in Nigeria, Abuja.
In his statement, President Bio expressed gratitude to His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for hosting this year’s 60th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government. ‘’We commend your Excellency for the excellent hospitality you accorded to our delegation since our arrival in Abuja and the outstanding facilities,’’ he said.
President Bio commended the leadership of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana who served as the Chair of the Authority of ECOWAS for his quality leadership and commitment he has demonstrated.
He noted that Sierra Leone has firmly endorsed ECOWAS’ mediation effort for both a return to constitutional order and democratic transition roadmaps for Guinea and Mali. Adding that Sierra Leone remains committed to and equally endorsed the efforts of the ECOWAS Commission and the Authority of Heads of State in ensuring stability and peace in the ECOWAS region.
He thanked the ECOWAS Commission for the adoption of Vision 2050 which is a landmark policy document that would transform the region over the next 30 years. ‘’We call on ECOWAS community to fully implement a communication strategy to ensure that the Vision is understood and owned by the people of the ECOWAS community,’’ said President Bio.
He disclosed to the ECOWAS community for a robust resource-mobilisation strategy as a way to enhance well-funded vital programmes.
President Bio said that the Commission must introduce a monitoring and evaluation dashboard to measure the impact of the Vision of the ECOWAS people.
His Excellency President Bio revealed that a high-level Mano River Union (MRU) Delegation has in recent time engaged the CNRD military leadership on the imperative for sub-regional security cooperation and joint border patrols. ‘’I therefore, urge colleague Heads of State to mandate the MRU to play a complementary support role to the ECOWAS process in Guinea,’’ he said.
President Bio affirmed that Sierra Leone will continue to work in close collaboration with ECOWAS to fight and prevent terrorist activities in the region.
He said the establishment of Counter-Terrorism Centre in Sierra Leone is currently working with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.
President Bio urged ECOWAS to strengthen National Early Warning System and better introduce a more effective coordination mechanism among member states.
He stated the fact Sierra Leone has faced unprecedented mutations of COVID 19, he urged for the enhancement and access to vaccines; and also support for the development of capacity for manufacturing COVID 19 vaccines in Africa.
President Bio said women must be fully involved in using innovation and technology to drive excellence in health care, education, agriculture and energy among other fields. ‘’We can accelerate socio-economic development by placing ICT at the centre of our development strategies,’’ he said.
He disclosed that in the 39th Ordinary Session of the Africa Union Executive Council which was held on 14th October 2021, Sierra Leone was unanimously endorsed as the sole candidate for the West Africa and the ECOWAS region for the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) seat bid for 2024-25 in the Non-Permanent Category.